Next to Normal
by ebnovotny
Summary: Sequel to Never Saw This Coming. Troy gets back to a new, normal life with Sharpay, and without Gabriella and Chad, after a rocky first semester of college. But something's about to happen that could possibly change all of their lives forever.
1. 1: Moving Day

A/N: Here we go again! Sorry it has taken me so long to get back into the loop. Summer started to get crazy. But I've gotten my desk cleared off again and my mind is ready to commit to the story. So, anyway, I hope you all enjoy. As always, please let me know what you think!

This is a sequel to my story "Never Saw This Coming". Check that out before you read this so that things will make sense!

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Moving Day

"Don't worry, Pay. I've got this."

Troy sighed heavily as he hauled a huge box out of the back of his truck that had Sharpay's flawless handwriting on it, telling him it belonged in the living room. He climbed up the steps to the new townhouse that he and his fiancé were moving into together.

"'Kay! Thanks, baby."

Troy rolled his eyes, but smiled a bit. He didn't really expect her to help with the heavy lifting, but he was starting to get tired and he wanted to get his truck emptied before the forecasted snow started to fall.

The New Year had just begun and it was a week before the new semester started. After the events of the past four months, Troy was all too happy to leave behind the dorm room he shared with his now-ex best friend, Chad Danforth. After Troy found out that his girlfriend, Gabriella Montez, was cheating on him with his roommate, he couldn't see himself living with the young man any longer. It worked out well for Troy that while this was happening, he found himself falling in love with the girl he least expected—Sharpay Evans. After a vacation in Colorado, Troy and Sharpay returned to Albuquerque engaged and ready to move in with each other. The University of Albuquerque, where both were college freshmen, offered nice, two-bedroom townhomes that Sharpay found to be "just perfect" for them, as she put it.

Troy gently dropped the box onto the floor and turned around, calling out for his love.

"Pay??"

"In the kitchen," she called back to him. He crossed the living room and entryway in a few short strides and found himself at the entrance to the kitchen. He smiled at the sight in front of him.

Sharpay was standing on her tiptoes, reaching as she tried to put some glass Tupperware into a cabinet that was just out of her reach. Even in her high heels, she had difficulty getting the container onto the shelf. Troy seized the opportunity to let his eyes roam over his fiancé's body, finding that she didn't look like she had been moving things into their new home all day. Every hair was still in place on her head and her clothes were just as perfect as they were when she put them on that morning. He smiled softly and walked up behind her quietly. He gently took the container and stretched the few extra inches it took to place it onto the shelf. She turned around and smiled up at him as he finished. She was still a few inches shorter than him in her heels. He looked down at her and saw the adoring face she always had when she looked back up at him.

She reached up and closed the distance between them as their lips met gently. His hands found her hips and he held them as they kissed softly against the kitchen counter. Her hands snaked up his chest to bury themselves in the hair at the nape of his neck. He moaned against her mouth and she opened it, her tongue meeting his. He lifted her up easily and placed her onto the counter, his hands moving to her back to rub it softly.

She regretfully ended the kiss as she pulled away to speak to him. "Is everything all unpacked?"

He groaned and buried his face in her neck as he shook his head. "No…"

She laughed and placed her hands against his chest, pushing gently. "Come on, Hoops. We've gotta get everything into the house tonight."

He nodded and helped her off of the counter. "Yeah, well, this would go a lot faster if you would help me get stuff from the truck!"

She stuck her tongue out at him and he winked back before going back out to the truck.

Three hours later, they had emptied both the back of his truck and the U-Haul truck of their contents. While Troy worked to get as much furniture as he could by himself in place, Sharpay worked to empty the boxes he had brought in. When he finished, they worked together to get as much unpacked as they could. There were still a few boxes littering their downstairs, but they would have to wait until the next day as it was getting late and the couple was starting to get very hungry.

Before long, Troy and Sharpay were cuddled close on their new couch, the remnants of delivered pizza sitting on their coffee table. They sat watching a DVD, unable to have any cable TV until it could be installed the next day. Sharpay yawned for what Troy counted as the tenth time in only five minutes. He reached over to get the remotes and he turned the TV and DVD player off.

"Hey," she whined sleepily. "I was still watching that." She frowned, but her eyes were closed and she really wasn't putting up much of a fight. Troy chuckled and scooped her up into his arms, carrying her like a bride up the stairs to their bedroom. He was grateful to have the king sized bed that used to be her bed at home. He set her down gently and turned to go back down stairs, having forgotten his cell phone in the living room, but he was stopped by a tug on his shirt.

Sharpay's eyes were closed, but she was smiling as she tugged again. "Come on, Hoops. It's bedtime."

He smiled and pulled his shirt up over his head, throwing it to the side. He crawled into bed beside her and pulled her close. It was long before they were both naked and enjoying each other. Sharpay was on top of Troy, moving slowly. She looked down at him, their eyes locked as they fucked. He held onto her hips, rubbing them sensually, his lower lip tugged between his teeth as he tried to hold back his orgasm. She began to rock faster and soon he felt her walls closing around him. He closed his eyes tightly and released into her. Mere moments later, she reached her climax and collapsed onto his chest.

He held her close and kissed her hair softly, taking in the sweet scent of strawberry that never grew old to him. He turned onto his side and their bodies spooned together nicely. He smiled at that and opened his eyes slowly. He could see that the snow was definitely falling now. He hoped that they might get snowed in. Now that they were all moved in and alone, it would be nice to have a good excuse to stay at home. They could build snowmen and have a snowball fight. He chuckled softly and looked down at Sharpay, imagining her covered in snow after their snow fight. He found her sleeping softly and the look of it was all too alluring. He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, he woke up to an empty bed, but he could smell something cooking in the kitchen. He smiled and crawled out of bed, walking over to a box and opening it up, looking for his clothes. He went through four boxes of Sharpay's things before he found the one he was looking for. He pulled on his pajama pants and made his way down the stairs towards the sounds and smells in the kitchen. He turned the corner once he reached the bottom of the stairs and found quite a sight.

His fiancé was wearing a t-shirt of his and her underwear only, swaying and singing softly beside the stove. He went to her and placed a soft kiss on her neck.

"Hey, you," he murmured into her hair. She turned to kiss his head softly, still singing.

He smiled and kissed her lips quickly before going into the living room to find his previously abandoned phone. The red light at the top was flashing, indicating missed messages. He flipped it open to find that he had ten missed alerts. He furrowed his brow and scrolled through his phone quickly, worried that something could be wrong with his parents and they had been trying to get a hold of him. He was more than surprised to find that all of the missed alerts were from Gabriella. He hadn't spoken to her since November and she had stopped trying to call him when she must've realized that he wouldn't answer her phone calls.

He saw that she tried to call eight times and left a message twice. He thought about just deleting them without listening to them, but he talked himself out of it. It didn't matter what she had to say at this point, so why not listen? He plopped onto the couch and called his voicemail. The automated voice on the other end told them that he had two missed messages. The first was from the night before at 10:49 PM. Gabriella's voice filled his ear as she spoke.

"H-Hey, Troy. It's Gaby. Listen, I know you don't want to talk to me. I know you probably hate me." He heard a sniffle and furrowed his brow—was she crying? "But, I need to talk to you. It's really important. Could you just call me back? Please? Thanks…"

The message ended and he erased it, waiting for the next one to start. The automated voice told him that the second message was received at 1:06 AM that morning. Troy frowned, unsure why she would be calling him that late.

"Hey, Troy, it's me again. I don't think you're gonna call me back, so I just have to tell you now and hope you'll call me back sometime soon. Troy, I-…I'm…sorry…I'm…"

Sharpay walked into the living room to find Troy staring at his phone in his hand as it rested gently on his lap. She looked at his face and found it eerily pale. She went to his side quickly, putting her hand gently on his back.

"Troy, baby? What is it? What's wrong?"

He just shook his head, still staring at his lap.

"What is it, Troy? You're scaring me."

He looked up at her and swallowed hard. His voice broke as he spoke.

"Gabriella's pregnant."

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Dun dun dun! : ) Please let me know what you think!


	2. 2: Surprise

A/N: Hello again! This chapter would have been up sooner, but seeing as my internet was slower than a snail, it took me a long time. But here it is! Enjoy!

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Surprise

"What?"

Troy swallowed hard and cleared his throat, furrowing his brow.

"Gabriella is pregnant. Sh-…she just found out and left me a voicemail last night."

Sharpay sat down onto the couch beside him, her eyes wide. "Whoa," she breathed.

Troy only nodded, his mind reeling with this new information.

"How….How pregnant is she?"

Troy shook his head now. "She didn't say." He looked over at Sharpay, frowning. "Pay…If…If she's far enough along…"

Sharpay held up her hand to stop him. "Don't. We don't know anything, yet." She forced a smile and wrapped her arms around him. Troy was doing his best not to pass out. Gabriella was pregnant. It could be his baby. He felt himself starting to shake.

Sharpay kissed his neck softly. "Hey…Come on, now. It's all right. Why don't you call her back?"

He nodded and picked the phone up out of his lap. He tried to dial her number, but his fingers were shaking too bad. Sharpay gently took the phone from him, scrolling through his phonebook to find the right number.

He looked at her with his brow slightly furrowed. "You're being so nice about this."

She looked up at him in surprise. "Of course. I love you, Troy."

"Pay, if this baby is mine…It'll change everything."

She was quiet, busying herself with his phone. He opened his mouth to speak again, but she shoved the phone into his hand. "It's ringing," she said softly.

He quickly put the phone up to his ear and it was only a short moment until he heard Gabriella answer the phone, sounding breathless.

"Hello? Troy?"

"Yeah. Hey, Gabriella. I, uh, I got your message."

He could hear her choke back a sob through the phone. "Oh, Troy. I'm so scared. I don't know what to do."

Troy felt conflicted. On one hand, we wanted to tell her to fuck off. He was still so angry at her for what she did. Why should he care about her problems now? But, on the other hand, he had loved her for a long time, and he still cared for her.

He sighed softly. "It's okay, Gabriella, just calm down. Breathe. Did you take a test? Why did you take a test? I mean, why did you think you were pregnant?"

She sniffled softly. "I took three tests last night. All were positive. I've missed a couple of periods and I've been getting sick, like, throwing up. I'm moody and hungry and my boobs hurt."

"Okay, okay. A little more than I wanted to know." Troy closed his eyes tightly. He knew there was no escaping it now. Those symptoms plus three positive pregnancy tests meant that this was definitely happening. "How far along do you think you are?"

She was quiet for a few moments, causing Troy to panic.

"Gaby??"

"I've missed three periods…so…three months?"

Troy struggled to get his brain to work to count backwards three months. "November? We weren't even together in November."

She sighed heavily. "Try October. And we _were_ together, then."

Troy looked over at Sharpay, who was watching him intently. She mouthed "What?" but he didn't answer, looking away.

"Yeah, but, I mean…We used condoms." He suddenly felt sick to his stomach, having to think about her having sex with Chad. "Did you and Chad use protection?"

"Yes, but we weren't always careful. And neither were you and I."

"So…so, you're saying this could definitely be my baby."

She was quiet again before she answered. "Yes, Troy. This could very well be your baby."

He couldn't fight it now. Tears filled his eyes as he rested his head back against the couch. He squeezed his eyes shut and he could feel the hot tears roll down his cheeks. They were gently brushed away as he felt Sharpay curl up beside him and wipe his face delicately. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her, his face full of apology.

Gabriella's voice was in his ear again. "Troy? Are you still there?"

Troy looked at Sharpay for a long time before clearing his throat and nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm here."

"Listen, do you think we could talk about this in person?"

"I think that would be a good idea. Do you want to come here?"

"To your parents' house? I don't know if that's such a good idea—"

He cut her off. "No, at my house. Sharpay and I live together on campus now."

She was quiet a moment before continuing softly. "Oh. Of course. Yeah, your house is fine. I can be there in 30 minutes or so."

"Okay. We've got a townhouse. 759 Wallington Circle."

"Got it. See you soon."

Troy hung up the phone and threw it back into his lap. He kept his eyes on Sharpay the entire time. They just looked at each other without speaking. Finally, Troy licked his lips and opened his mouth to speak. "Pay, I…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

She smiled weakly and stood up. "Breakfast…I'd better go check on breakfast." She took in a deep breath before turning around and going back into the kitchen. Troy wanted to follow her, but he felt himself planted to his spot on the couch. His mind began to wander as he imagined himself as a father. It wasn't too difficult to see this child—he had imagined himself having children with Gabriella before. But, as of late, his imaginary children all had blonde hair and fair skin, like Sharpay. This new, dark haired child was suddenly unfamiliar and almost frightening to him. If this was his child, how could he expect to have any kind of normal life with Sharpay?

"Here, baby."

Troy jumped and looked up at Sharpay who was now standing beside him, fully dressed and handing him a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"She's going to be here in a minute and you should probably get dressed. Breakfast is ready, too."

He nodded and took the clothes. "Thanks, Pay."

She smiled softly and turned to go into the kitchen again. He watched her walk away before moving quickly to the bathroom. He was in the middle of getting his jeans on when he heard Sharpay open the front door. He froze, his ears straining to hear the two women.

"Hey, Gabriella," he heard Sharpay say sweetly and, to his surprise, sincerely. He closed his eyes and smiled, grateful for the loving and supportive leading lady in his life.

"Hey, Sharpay. Thanks for letting me come over."

"Of course. Troy's just getting dressed. Troy?"

He could hear Sharpay's voice coming closer. He moved fast again, finishing getting dressed and opening the door to find Sharpay standing there. He smiled softly at her and put his lips to hers for a quick kiss before walking around corner to face Gabriella.

He was met with a surprise.

He hadn't expected Gabriella to already look so big. Not fat, in any way, but he hadn't expected to look at her and be able to guess that she was pregnant. Her breasts were swollen and there was a hint of a bump where her stomach was. It almost looked like she had let herself go, but different. Like she wasn't gaining weight in the places she would be if she were overeating. Had Troy been anymore of a guy, he wouldn't be able to tell. But there was just something about her that screamed "pregnant" to him. She smiled meekly and he smiled back with encouragement.

"Hey, Gaby. Come on in. Let's go into the kitchen."

All three went into the kitchen and Sharpay made plates of food for them as Troy and Gabriella sat down at the kitchen table.

"This place is really nice. It's beautiful," Gabriella said as she looked around.

Sharpay smiled at her as she brought over two plates of food. "Thank you. We just moved everything in yesterday, so it's nowhere near done, but it definitely has potential."

"Does Chad know?" Troy asked, not wanting to waste time with pleasantries.

Gabriella looked at him a moment before shaking her head. "No. He doesn't. He's staying with his parents until Thursday and I didn't want him to freak out there."

Troy reached up to rub the back of his neck nervously. "Oh, okay. Well, what about your mom?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yes, she knows. She was the first person I told. She was with me when I took the tests."

Troy sighed softly and nodded, not knowing what to say. "What did she say? I mean…you're pregnant. You're having a baby…"

Sharpay sat down at the table with her plate of food and, before Gabriella could answer, she spoke softly. "Babies."

Troy turned to look at her sharply and Gabriella's jaw dropped in shock. "What?" they asked in unison.

Sharpay frowned a bit and furrowed her brow. "Gabriella. You think you're only three months pregnant? Sorry, but there's no way you'd be showing that much with just one baby. I saw pictures of my mom when she was pregnant with Ryan and me. She looked just liked that at three months."

Troy buried his face in his hands, trying to remember how to breathe. Two babies? Wasn't one frightening enough? He ran his fingers through his hair and he looked at Gabriella. "You need to make a doctor's appointment."

Gabriella nodded and looked as if she were fighting back tears. "I already did. It's tomorrow at 2:30." She kept looking at him, biting her lip gently. "My mom has to leave for New York tonight for work, so I'll have to go alone."

Troy opened his mouth, ready to offer to go with her, but he snapped it shut quickly, looking over at Sharpay.

Sharpay sighed softly and raised her eyebrows. "Do you want us to go with you Gabriella?"

Gabriella looked at Sharpay hopefully. "Oh, I-…" she trailed off, swallowing hard. She blinked and tears started to roll down her face. "I'm just-…so scared. I don't know what to do. I don't w-want to go alone…"

Sharpay looked at Troy and smiled sadly. She raised her eyebrows with a look that said "what are you waiting for, idiot?".

He furrowed his brow and then looked at Gabriella. He reached out tentatively and touched her arm. "Don't cry, Gaby. We'll both go with you, ok?"

She sniffled and looked over at him. "Th-thank you. So much." She looked back at Sharpay. "Thank you so much. I- I'll do anything for you guys, ok?"

Sharpay smiled at her. "Let's not worry about that just yet. Why don't you go home and be with your mom? We'll come pick you up tomorrow at 2, ok?"

Gabriella nodded and the two women stood up and walked to the door. Troy watched them go in shock, not believing what had just happened. His fiancé offered to take his ex-girlfriend, who could be pregnant with his baby, to her doctor appointment. Was he in some kind of parallel universe? Had Hell frozen over? Why was Sharpay being so nice to Gabriella? Wasn't she scared, like Troy was? Troy rested his head on the table and closed his eyes as his head swam with questions.

Sharpay came back into the kitchen and started to clean up breakfast, silently. Troy listened to the quiet for a long time before standing up. "I'm going to take a shower." He waited, but she didn't say anything in response. He went up the stairs and started the water. He stripped off his clothes, throwing them to the bathroom floor and stepping in. He felt the hot water scald him, but he didn't care. He felt numb after all of this talk about babies and the pain of the hot water on his skin reminded him that he was still alive, in a way. Still alive, even after feeling like his world was crashing down on him again.

He was worried about Sharpay. Why was she doing this? She was so nice to Gabriella, but then turned around and gave him the silent treatment. He hadn't done anything wrong. What did she want from him? And where was her place in all of this?

Troy opened his eyes as he thought that_. Sharpay's place? Beside me, of course. Unless…Unless she's doing this because…because she wants to leave me. She didn't sign up for any of this. Maybe she doesn't want the responsibility of maybe being a step-mother to this child…or children…_He groaned at that thought.

_What if she is helping with Gabriella because she's going to leave me? She wants to make things okay between us so that she can go and get away from this. I can't do this without her. Doesn't she know that I pick her over Gabriella?_

There was a soft knock on the door that interrupted Troy's thoughts and made him jump. "Y-yeah?"

The door cracked open. "Can I join you?" he heard Sharpay ask.

"Of course."

He heard her move around quietly as she removed her clothes and stepped into the shower with him. She smiled up at him softly.

"Hey, Hoops. You doing okay?"

He looked at her for a long moment before shaking his head. "Not really."

She frowned and reached up, putting her fingers into his hair and pulling him close. "It'll be okay, Troy. We'll get through this."

He pulled back to look at her face. "You do mean "we" as in you and me, right? Because I can't do this without you, Pay."

She furrowed her brow and smiled softly up at him. "Of course I mean you and me. I love you, Bolton. Sorry, but you're stuck with me." She smiled wider.

He let out a nervous, but relieved, laugh and pulled her close, resting his head on top of hers. "I love you, too, Evans. You know," he started, pulling back to look at her face and licking his lips, "this is the first time we've used this shower."

She raised her eyebrows a bit. "Oh. Yeah. I guess it is. Hmm…"

"Don't you think we should…christen it?" he asked, running his hand down her back slowly. He brought it around her thigh and slipped a finger into her gently.

She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around his neck tighter, needing to hold on. She nodded, unable to speak. She only gasped softly as he began to finger her.

"Oh my, Sharpay. Are you at a loss for words? Sharpay Evans cannot speak??" he said, laughing.

She pulled back enough to look at his face, smiling sexily. "Shut up and fuck me, Troy."

He smiled wide, intending to do just that, but he felt a jolt go through his arms, stopping him. How could he have forgotten what was happening already? Gabriella was pregnant and it was probably because there was no protection involved. Troy felt frozen, even under the hot water.

Sharpay looked up at him. "Baby? Are you okay?"

He nodded and looked down at her. "Yeah…Of course." He forced a smile and tried to act smooth to cover his sudden shock. "I just need to, you know…go get something."

She furrowed her brow. "What? Where? You're soaking wet!"

"Condoms, Pay. I have to get condoms." He was suddenly serious, not smiling anymore. "If we're going to have sex, it's going to be protected."

She laughed softly and cupped his cheek. "Chill, Hoops. I'm on the pill, remember?"

He shook his head. "It's not enough. You could still get pregnant, right?"

She looked at him like he was crazy. "It's, like, 99% effective, Troy. We'll be fine."

He shook his head again. "I'm not taking any chances. We'll use both. I can't do this, Sharpay. I'm not getting you pregnant. I can't handle that."

She watched him for a moment before shaking her head. "You know what? Forget it. I'm not in the mood anymore. Have a nice shower."

She stepped out and grabbed a towel. "Sharpay, wait," Troy tried to stop her, but she slipped out of his wet grasp and shut the door loudly, ignoring him.

Troy rested his head against the shower wall, not knowing if he would make it through this day, let alone the _next_ day, when he would have to take his pregnant ex-girlfriend to the doctor to find out if she was carrying one baby…or two.

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As always, please let me know what you thought! I'm feeling pretty good after this chapter. If I get some good reviews, I'm likely to go ahead and get chapter 3 rolling!

Also! I would love to hear predictions and reactions from you guys. It means a lot to me when you guys get into my stories and react honestly. So, let me know! ~EB


	3. 3: Slow Motion

A/N: Enjoy! Sorry (again) for the delay. I'm really having trouble with motivation lately. If anyone has any ideas, shoot them my way. Let me know what you think!

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Slow Motion

Troy woke up the next morning feeling as if he hadn't slept at all. After the shower incident, Sharpay refused to talk to him, so Troy spent the rest of the day at the gym and unpacking all of his clothes. By nine o'clock, she still wasn't talking to him, so he decided to go to bed early. But he couldn't keep his mind from racing and reliving the previous day. Gabriella's words echoed in his head and while he tried his best to push them away, he couldn't manage to get more than a few hours of sleep.

He continued to lie in his bed, staring at the wall, not wanting to get up. He felt Sharpay stirring beside him, grateful that she at least slept in the same bed with him that night. He felt her thin arms wrap around him and he smiled a bit.

He turned towards her, his eyes immediately going to study her face. She smiled softly at him and reached one hand up to cup his cheek.

He looked at her for a long moment before saying anything.

"Pay, I-….I'm so sorry. I was a jerk yesterday, but I-"

She put her hand gently over his mouth, interrupting him.

"I know. You _were_ a jerk, but I know it was because you're scared."

Troy nodded and opened his mouth to speak again, but she kept her hand in place.

"I'm not done, Hoops."

He smiled against her hand and pulled it away gently, kissing it sweetly. He kept his mouth closed, waiting for her to finish.

"I'm scared, too. I'm going to be your wife, Troy. That hasn't changed. Whatever happens with this, we'll go through together. If this baby turns out to be yours and you want to be a part of its life, then I'll be the wicked step-mother."

He laughed softly now and she smiled wide. He leaned in to kiss her. After a few moments, he pulled back to look at her face again.

"Pay, you could never be a wicked step-mother. Besides, we don't even know if this kid is mine. Things are going to be fine, right?" He worked hard to sound convincing, but he knew he was still trying to convince himself.

She nodded and kissed him again before rolling out of bed. "Everything will be great, Hoops. You'll see." She grabbed a robe from the closet and wrapped it around her body.

Troy rolled back over to look at the clock. It was 10:00, four hours before they were supposed to pick up Gabriella for her doctor appointment. He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair a few times before standing. Sharpay was on her way out the door when he grabbed her from behind and pulled her close.

She let out a small squeal that turned into a moan as he put his lips to her neck. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to the bed as he sat down. She still stood and turned in his arms, looking down at him. He buried his face in her stomach and she put her fingers in his hair, scratching his scalp gently.

He groaned and mumbled. "Can we just go elope?"

He looked up at her and saw that her eyebrows were raised. "Is that what you really want, Troy? Just the two of us running off together and not letting any of our friends or family see us get married."

He sighed softly and shook his head. "I guess not."

She smiled down at him. "Good. I think it would make things even more complicated. Besides, if you think I'm going to get married without a big party, you are sadly mistaken."

He laughed and pulled her down, kissing her passionately.

A few hours later, Troy was driving Sharpay and Gabriella to Gabriella's doctor appointment, keeping his eyes on the road. Sharpay and Gabriella made some small talk until Sharpay turned the radio on, cutting off all awkward conversation.

When they arrived, the trio sat in the waiting room as Gabriella filled out some paperwork. Troy stayed silent, watching the other people who were waiting. He saw women who were pregnant alone and with their husbands. He saw mothers and their children, playing loudly at the one play table that was situated in the corner. He saw one couple who looked like they were still in high school. The man, _No, boy_, Troy thought, was holding a little baby while the girl next to him was filling out some papers. The boy was playing with the baby and seemed fine, but Troy could see the fear in his eyes, fear that Troy felt mirrored in his own.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't hear Sharpay calling his name at first. She had to tap his shoulder a few times before he looked up at her. He stood and followed Sharpay and Gabriella as they followed a doctor down a long hallway towards an examination room.

It was almost like in the movies. Troy felt himself following the pair of girls down the long hallway in slow motion. He looked side to side and saw various examination rooms that were empty and some where the door was closed because there were patients inside. Ahead, a doctor slowly smiled at a man and woman as they gushed over an ultrasound picture of their baby. Troy looked ahead at Gabriella and wanted to scream and run away, but no sound would come out. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to squeeze out the images that were now popping into his head—images of Gaby and himself with a baby, smiling. He shook his head and looked up, quickly coming back to reality as he noticed that they had stopped walking.

They were at an examination room with a machine that Troy assumed was the ultrasound machine, the one that would find out how big the baby was. _Or if there is more than one_, he reminded himself.

Gabriella and the doctor went into the room and Sharpay turned to look at Troy. She raised her eyebrows a bit. His eyes were still locked on the ultrasound machine. He shook his head. "I can't, Pay. I can't go in there."

She smiled sadly and nodded. "I thought you might feel that way."

He looked down at her and frowned. "I'm sorry."

She leaned up and put her lips to his, softly kissing him for a few moments. "It's okay. I don't know how long this will take. Are you going to wait here or….?"

Troy swallowed hard and thought about it. He wanted to run. To just leave this place and keep running until he didn't have to think about babies any more. "I'll wait here."

She smiled and kissed his cheek before going into the room and shutting the door.

Troy leaned against the wall and sank down slowly. He buried his face in his knees and tried as hard as he could to remember to breath while he knew what was going on in that room. All of the deep breathing must have caused him to fall asleep because he jumped when he heard Sharpay open the door what felt like only seconds later. He stood quickly and looked at her expectantly. "Well…"

She took in a deep breath and shut the door behind herself. "There's just one baby. A girl." She smiled softly.

He nodded slowly, taking in that information. "A girl…wow… But how are they able to know? I thought you had to wait a long time before finding out the sex of the baby," he said, furrowing his brow in confusion.

Sharpay nodded. "You do. You need to be about halfway through to know for sure whether it's a boy or a girl." She stopped for a moment before continuing. "Gabriella isn't two or three months pregnant. She's five months pregnant. 22 weeks, the doctor is estimating."

Troy's mind began to race as he processed this information. If she was five months pregnant, she conceived in August. Troy tried to remember that far back, past the huge change in his life. He and Gabriella started college. But before that, they spent all of their time together. How much time had she spent, alone, with Chad?

Troy opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened again and Gabriella stepped out. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she'd been crying. Troy furrowed his brow. "Gaby…Are you okay?"

She nodded, but her trembling chin betrayed her. Instinctively, Troy went to her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's gonna be okay," he whispered. "You're gonna be okay, Gaby."

She began to cry into his chest and he continued to hold her close. He turned to look for Sharpay, but she was no longer standing with them. Troy pulled away from Gabriella enough to look down at her face. "Come on. Let's get you out of here, ok?"

They walked side by side down the long hallway, back to the waiting room where Sharpay was waiting with pictures in her hand. She smiled at them and stood up, silently joining them.

The car ride back to Gabriella's house was quiet, without any small talk or radio to cover the silence. When they pulled into the driveway, Troy shut off the car and turned to look at Gabriella. "When are you going to tell Chad?"

"Today," she said. "He's coming over in about an hour."

Troy nodded. "Good. You'll be okay?" he asked, raising his eyebrows a bit.

She nodded and smiled weakly. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks so much for taking me. Thanks for being in there with me, Sharpay."

Sharpay turned around in her seat and smiled at her. "It was no problem, Gabriella. Here," she said as she handed her the pictures she was holding. Troy furrowed his brow and tried to see what they were.

Gabriella smiled at the picture and handed one back to her. "You guys keep one, okay?"

Sharpay nodded and took the picture. "Thanks. We'll see you later."

Gabriella turned to look at Troy. "Thanks, Troy." She opened her door to get out.

"You're welcome," he said. "You can call anytime, okay?"

She shut her door and then smiled and waved at them. When she was safely inside the house, Troy started the car again and pulled out of the driveway.

"So," he started. "What are those pictures you guys had?"

Sharpay laughed. "What do you think they were? Pictures of the beach vacation we took while you were in the hallway? They're ultrasound pictures."

Troy felt himself go pale and he kept his eyes on the road.

She looked over at him. "Hoops, are you okay? Do you wanna see her?"

He shook his head quickly and kept his eyes on the road. Sharpay looked down at her lap and they didn't speak again for a couple of minutes. "Do you want Chinese for dinner?" he asked.

She nodded. "That sounds good, babe."

They got home and Troy went right for the phone in the living room to order their dinner. He turned and saw Sharpay going into the kitchen. He saw her put the ultrasound picture on the refrigerator. She looked at it for a long time before opening the fridge door and getting out a soda.

Troy turned away from the kitchen and ordered the food. He stayed out of the kitchen throughout dinner and after as they cuddled on the couch to watch a movie.

When the movie was over, Sharpay turned to Troy and kissed his cheek. "I need to get some sleep."

Troy frowned. "Babe. It's, like, seven o'clock!"

She laughed softly. "I know, but I want to take a bath and then get lots of beauty sleep. Monsieur Edward is holding a dramatic arts seminar early tomorrow morning and I don't want to go looking tired."

Troy groaned and pulled her close. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in the strawberry scent. He pulled back and put her face in his hands. He looked her over a few times before smiling. "I love you, Pay."

She smiled back at him. "I love you, too, Hoops." She leaned in and kissed him for a long time before pulling back. "You could always join me in the bath, you know…"

He laughed once and shook his head. "If I got in that bath with you, you wouldn't get very clean." He wiggled his eyebrows a bit.

She picked up a small pillow and threw it at him, laughing. "Don't stay up too late, okay?"

He nodded and picked up the TV remote. "I won't."

Troy flipped between a basketball game and a movie for a few hours before he started to feel sleepy. The lack of sleep from the night before had finally caught up to him. He stood up and stretched and his eyes wandered over to the kitchen, where they immediately went to the picture that hung on the fridge. He bit his lip and walked into the kitchen, going up to the picture. It took him a moment to decipher the snapshot, but when he did, he could clearly see a profile shot of the baby girl that was growing inside of Gabriella. She looked like any other baby he had seen, but something in his heart tore as he longed to hold this child. He bit his lip as tears came to his eyes, but he quickly brushed them away, taking in a deep, steadying breath.

"Wow…" he breathed, trying to burn an imprint of the picture into his brain.

He touched it lightly with the tips of his fingers before taking one last look and turning around, going up the stairs to his bedroom. He shut the door behind himself and crawled into bed with his jeans still on. He pulled a sleeping Sharpay close and when he closed his eyes, he could still see the image of the baby girl that was on the fridge. He smiled and sighed happily, easily falling asleep just moments later.

It was nearly midnight when Troy awoke to the sound of his cell phone ringing and vibrating in his pocket.


	4. 4: House Guest

House Guest

"Hello?" Troy asked as he sleepily answered his cell phone.

"H-hi, Troy, I-…" Gabriella's sobs broke through her words, making her nearly impossible to understand. Troy sat up in bed, his brow furrowed with the sleepy confusion he felt.

"Gaby? What's wrong?"

"…It's Chad. He left me."

Troy widened his eyes now, suddenly feeling more awake at this news. "He _what_?"

The fierceness in his voice caused Sharpay to wake up beside him, turning over to look at him.

"I told him that I was pregnant and he…freaked out," Gabriella continued.

Troy closed his eyes tightly and looked down at his lap. "Fucking asshole…" He felt Sharpay sit up beside him now and wrap her arms around him, trying to look at his face.

Gabriella sobbed again. "I don't know what to do, Troy. I'm all alone here now."

Without thinking, Troy spoke. "Come here," he told her, his voice sounding resolved. Sharpay craned her neck to look at him, her eyes wide. He didn't look back at her, his eyes closed and his mind focused on the picture on the fridge, of the baby girl.

"Wh-…what?" Gabriella asked, sounding surprised. "I don't know, Troy."

"Yes. Just until your mother gets back. You shouldn't be alone."

She hesitated before speaking again. "Are you sure? Sharpay won't mind?"

He nodded. "It's fine. I'll come to get you in the morning. Will you be okay until then?"

"Yes!" she sounded grateful now. "Thank you, Troy. You're such a great guy. Thanks."

He hung up the phone, still not looking at Sharpay. All he could do was think about the safety of the baby that could be his. And now that Chad was out of the picture, Troy would have to be a father figure for her. It was instinctual and it frightened him, but he couldn't help the feeling.

It was a few moments before he felt the weight of his decision. Sharpay was hurtling herself out of the bed, violently grabbing her robe from where it rested in the closet. His eyes shot to her and he realized his big mistake.

"Pay, baby, I-…"

"Save it, Bolton," she spat out, cutting him off. He looked at her in shock. "I think I've been pretty cool about this whole thing. And I've wanted to be. I want to support you, Troy. But you just invited your pregnant ex-girlfriend to live with us! In the home we just created for ourselves! Without even asking me!"

Troy blinked a few times, not knowing what to say. "I-…I'm sorry, Pay."

She nodded and just looked at him. "I'm sure you are. But you need to learn to think things through before you just go and react rashly."

He nodded now and stood up, trying to go to her, but she backed away from him. "You're right. I'm sorry. Something just came over me and I needed to help her. Chad left her. She's alone now. I had to do something."

Sharpay looked surprise for a moment, but shook her head. "I'm glad that you're such a caring person, Troy. It's one of the things I absolutely love about you…But I'm starting to be the one that gets hurt in all of this."

He reached out to her again, his heart breaking at those words. He never wanted to hurt her. She held out a hand to stop him and she made her way towards the door.

"I don't want to talk anymore."

He frowned. "Okay. Where are you going?"

She hesitated a moment before furrowing her brow. He saw her struggle with the thought of sleeping on the couch. He spoke again before she could make a decision.

"I'll go downstairs. You need to be up early."

She watched him as he grabbed his phone and walked past her, shutting the door behind him. When Troy reached the living room, he searched through a few boxes before he found a blanket. He pulled it out and shook it a few times before wrapping it around his body. He threw himself onto the couch and relived the past five minutes in his head.

Chad left Gabriella. _Asshole_, he thought. And in a moment of sheer panic and stupidity, he asked Gabriella to move in. Without consulting his fiancé first. He shook his head.

"I am so screwed," he said aloud.

The next morning, Troy woke up freezing. He pulled himself off of the couch, keeping the blanket wrapped around his body, and waddled over to the thermostat. He furrowed his brow and turned it up, not used to having to take care of a home in that way. He sighed heavily, realizing that there were a lot of things about being an adult that he didn't know how to do, yet.

He made his way up the stairs, apology ready in his mind, but he saw that the bedroom door was open and Sharpay was no longer asleep in the bed. He went into the bathroom and saw that the mirror was still slightly foggy, which meant that she took a shower.

He went back down the stairs and called out to her, finding no answer. He closed his eyes and wracked his brain for some reason why she would be gone, starting to panic a bit. Then he remembered her dramatic seminar at school and breathed a sigh of relief.

Troy walked back over to the couch and saw the flashing red light that his mind was now trained to fear. He swallowed hard and flipped open his phone, not bothering to see who the messages were from. He went straight to the voicemail menu.

The first message was from Sharpay at around 8 that morning. "Hey, baby," her recorded voice said. "I'm at my seminar. I know you probably forgot. I'll be here until around 3 and then I'll be home and we can talk. I love you."

Troy smiled a bit, glad that she sounded relatively normal. The second message started and Troy braced himself for it.

"Hey, Troy. It's Gaby. I was just wondering what time you were going to pick me up. Just call me!"

The short message ended and Troy sighed softly. He felt conflicted about what to do now. He didn't have the chance to talk to Sharpay about Gabriella moving in and he didn't want to upset her. On the other hand, he didn't want to tell Gabriella that she couldn't move in anymore. He flipped open his phone and dialed Gabriella's number.

She answered on the first ring. "Hello??"

Troy smiled to himself a bit at the eagerness in her voice. "Hey, Gaby. It's me. You all packed up?"

That afternoon, Sharpay returned home to find Troy in the kitchen. He heard her open the door and he turned at the sound, smiling. She smiled back at him.

"Hey, babe," she said softly, making her way towards him. "Are you actually cooking in here?" She raised her eyebrows, surprised.

He laughed softly and nodded. "I've been known to make a mean macaroni and cheese out of the box." He pulled her close and leaned down to kiss her. She held onto him and kissed him back, not wanting to let him go.

After a few moments, they finally parted, but Troy held onto her. "How was your seminar?" he asked.

She nodded, looking excited. "It was great! Really insightful. Monsieur Edward is such a genius."

Troy kept his eyes from rolling into his head and he just nodded. "That's great, babe!"

She smiled up at him and kissed him once more. "Did you talk to Gabriella?"

He swallowed hard and felt the color drain from his face. "Uh, yes. Yes, I did."

She studied him carefully, looking back and forth between his eyes. She took a step back to get a better look at his face.

"Troy…"

He didn't say anything. He just looked back at her.

"Troy, is she here?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out as they heard a door open upstairs. Sharpay turned her head towards the sound quickly and then snapped it back to Troy as they heard Gabriella descending the stairs. Troy could see Sharpay take in a few deep breaths, her eyes piercing him.

Gabriella stepped into the kitchen, smiling. "Hey, Sharpay! Listen, thank you so much for letting me stay here. You have no idea how much it means to me."

Sharpay turned and Troy couldn't see the look on her face, but her voice sounded pleasant. "Of course! We don't want you staying alone right now. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need."

Gabriella smiled wide and then smiled at Troy.

Sharpay spoke again. "If you'll excuse me, I'm just going to take a shower." She left without turning to look at Troy again.

He smiled at Gabriella, but it felt tense on his face as he worried about Sharpay's reaction.

"Did you have a good nap?" he asked, listening as the door shut a little too loudly upstairs.

Gabriella nodded. "I did, thanks."

Troy nodded. "That's great…Excuse me." He walked past her, anxious to get upstairs. "Have some macaroni if you're hungry," he said as an afterthought.

He reached his bedroom door and took a deep breath before grabbing the doorknob. He turned it, but nothing happened. He tried again and realized it was locked.

"Pay?" he asked quietly. He heard her move to the other side of the door.

"Good night, Troy," she said, her voice stiff.

"Good night?" he repeated. "It's only 3:30. Please let me in, Pay."

"No. Go downstairs."

"Pay, please! Just let me in." It was no use. He heard the bedroom's bathroom door slam and he heard the shower turn on.

Troy turned and rested his back against the wall, sinking to the floor. He buried his fingers in his hair and sighed heavily.

_Great_, he thought. _I've officially fucked up the best thing in my life_.

* * *

Please let me know what you thought. Sorry it has taken so long to put up. I hope this chapter wasn't too crappy.


	5. 5: Confrontation and a Big Mistake

Confrontation and a Big Mistake

Troy did not like the fact that he was growing accustomed to sleeping on the couch. He woke up on Monday morning having spent a third consecutive night on the couch.

Sharpay wasn't speaking to him, keeping herself up in their bedroom with the door locked or doing something outside of their home to keep busy. Troy saw her a few times in passing, but she refused to acknowledge him.

Through this, Gabriella was trying her best to be a good houseguest. She cooked for Troy and worked to keep herself from being a burden.

When Troy awoke early on that Monday morning, he could smell eggs and bacon cooking in the kitchen. He smiled to himself, despite the fact that his back was aching from sleeping on the couch again. He got up and pulled a t-shirt on before walking into the kitchen, his bare feet slapping onto the linoleum floor.

He found Gabriella standing in the kitchen at the stove, humming softly. Troy sat down at the table and she turned at the sound, smiling at him.

"Good morning, Troy," she said, pleasantly.

"Good morning, Gaby. That breakfast smells incredible. I had no idea you were so domestic," he joked.

She laughed softly and he smiled wider at the sound. "Neither did I," she confessed, placing her free hand onto her growing belly.

Troy 's eyes fell to where her hand rested on her stomach and he swallowed hard. While he had never imagined being a father so young, there was something inside of him that got excited at the prospect of this baby being his. He yearned to reach out and feel the baby move inside his ex-girlfriend's stomach, but he kept those feelings at bay.

"Are you excited for today?" Gabriella asked him, causing him to look up at her face now in confusion.

"Today?" he started, but then a look of realization crossed his face and he nodded. "Yeah, uh…I don't know if 'excited' is the word, but I'm ready."

Troy sighed softly. Today was the first basketball practice of the new year. While the thought of playing basketball always made him excited in high school, now it made his stomach turn uncomfortably as he thought about seeing Chad.

He was going to confront his former best friend today. He had already decided this a few days ago, but hadn't told Gabriella. He didn't want her worrying about it.

Gabriella turned around and brought a pan of food to the plate that was already on the table in front of him. She scooped off a helping of eggs and bacon for him and herself. Troy noticed that she left some food still in the pan.

"Is Sharpay still here?" he asked her, looking hopeful.

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah. As far as I know."

Troy tried not to swallow his breakfast whole. He wanted to finish in time to go upstairs and try to talk to his fiancée. The hot eggs burned his throat as he swallowed them, but he didn't care. He thanked Gabriella for the breakfast and took care of his plate before going up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. He knocked softly on his bedroom door.

"Pay?" he asked softly. He waited a few moments, but she didn't say anything.

Troy sighed softly and rested his forehead against the door.

"I have my first practice today. I'll be home after that." He hoped that she could understand how difficult this would be for him. He wanted her to open the door and forgive him. Maybe even hug him close.

He waited another minute before he gave up on her coming out of their bedroom. "I love you, Pay," he whispered before stepping away from the door and going back downstairs.

Forty-five minutes later, Troy found himself running drills with his teammates. He kept himself focused on the training and the game rather than Chad. He was thankful that the coach still kept a little distance between them. He knew about the issues the two young men had had last semester and the tension it put on the team.

After a successful practice, Troy was high on adrenaline and no longer anxious about speaking to Chad. When the coach ended the practice, Troy ran over to Chad.

"Can we talk?" he asked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

Chad looked surprised, but nodding, raising his eyebrows a bit. "Yeah…of course."

The pair walked towards the other end of the gym, away from where the rest of the team was heading towards the locker room.

"Chad," Troy started. "What the hell is your problem?"

Troy hadn't meant for the conversation to start out that way, but anything that he rehearsed before disappeared and he let the adrenaline in his system choose the words for him.

Chad took a step back, looking offended. "What the fuck, man?"

"Gabriella is pregnant and you fucking dump her? That's pretty fucked up, Chad. Even for you."

"What the hell are _you_ doing for her? That kid could be yours, you know."

Troy nodded, his blood starting to boil. "I know! She's fucking living with me! I'm taking care of her."

Chad looked surprised again, but he shook his head. "You can have her. It's probably your baby anyway. Or it could be someone else's. She was a slut."

Troy widened his eyes and moved before he could think. He pushed Chad hard in the chest, knocking him back several steps.

Chad barreled back towards him and knocked Troy to the ground. The two men wrestled, both throwing punches at the other. It was only a moment before the coach and several teammates were at their sides, pulling them apart.

They finally succeeded, but not before Troy received a hard punch to the left side of his face, right below his eye. He looked at Chad's face and his swollen, bleeding lip, not struggling against the basketball player that was holding him back.

"You're both off the team," the coach yelled, furious with them. Chad opened his mouth to protest, but Troy just shrugged away from the man who was holding him and he exited the gym, going to the locker room to get his bag. Troy didn't stop moving as he left the locker room and made his way to the parking lot, going to his truck. He stopped when he looked up and saw Sharpay sitting on the edge of the truck bed.

She smiled softly at him, but it quickly turned to a frown when she saw his face. "Troy?" she asked with panic in her voice as she got off of the truck and went to him. She looked up at his face and gently cupped his cheek.

"What happened to you?" she whispered as her eyes went over his face.

Troy shook his head softly. "I tried to talk to Chad. It…didn't really go well."

Sharpay bit her lip and opened her mouth to speak, but Troy cut her off.

"I'm sorry, Pay. I keep being an idiot. I don't know what's wrong with me. But I love you so much and I don't want to fight anymore."

She smiled at him and got onto her toes to kiss his lips. He wrapped his arms around her and hoped she wouldn't mind his sweatiness. She didn't seem to mind because she wrapped her arms tighter around him and he lifted her off of the ground.

Troy set her back down and pulled back to look at her face.

"Let's go home," she said, taking his hand and pulling him to the truck.

Troy was thankful that over the next two months, things finally started to get back to normal. He and Sharpay stopped fighting. While he was without basketball for the first time since he could remember, he filled his free time with his fiancée or Gabriella, watching her and the tiny baby inside of her grow. The three of them often spent the evenings together when Sharpay wasn't at play rehearsal. She had gotten the lead female role in _The Music Man_. Even Troy's classes were going well.

One night in mid-March, Troy looked over at Sharpay as she lay naked beside him. He touched her bare shoulder and planted soft kisses on it as she slept. He smiled wide, glad to have a (mostly) typical life again. He rolled over to go to sleep when he heard sounds downstairs. He furrowed his brow and got up, pulling on a pair of boxers and a t-shirt.

He quietly went downstairs and found Gabriella sitting on the couch, crying silently. Her face was lit up by the light coming from the TV screen.

"Gaby?" he asked, afraid that something was wrong with her or the baby. "What is it?"

She looked up at him, startled, and shook her head. "Nothing." Her voice was barely audible. Troy walked to her and sat down beside her on the couch, turning to look at the TV. He realized what was making her cry—she was watching a television show that featured childbirth. On the screen, he saw a mother in a hospital bed, holding her newborn child.

Troy hid a small smile and wrapped his arm around Gabriella's shoulder. "It's okay, Gaby. It's just your crazy hormones making you this emotional."

She nodded and wiped her face. "I know. I just can't help it." She rested her head on his shoulder and sobbed softly.

Troy frowned now and rubbed her shoulder. "Don't cry. It's all right. I've got you."

She stayed there another moment before pulling back and using both hands to wipe her face.

"I'm sorry, Troy," she muttered. "I didn't mean to cry all over you." She laughed softly now as she looked at his chest. He looked down as well and saw a puddle of tear-stains.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Don't even worry about it. I'm pretty sure this will come out in the wash."

Gabriella giggled and placed her hands on her stomach. "Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly, looking down at her hands. Troy's eyes looked down as well and then he looked quickly back up at her face.

"Is she okay?" he asked, concerned.

She nodded and smiled up at him. "She's fine. She's just moving around in there. She does it a lot when you talk."

Troy's eyes widened slowly and he looked down at her stomach again. "Really?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling. She reached out with one hand and took his, bringing it back to her body and placing it on top of her belly.

It was the first time Troy had ever felt her enlarged stomach and his jaw dropped a bit at the feel. "Wow," he whispered as he kept his eyes on his hand. "This is amazing, Gaby," he spoke again, louder this time. He felt the little girl move inside her at the sound of his voice and he jumped as she kicked at him.

Gabriella laughed softly and put her hand on top of his. "I told you she liked the sound of your voice."

He nodded and looked at his hand again, then hers, and finally, her face. He swallowed hard, overcome with emotion for Gabriella that he couldn't quite place. He had loved her for so long, then lost her and found Sharpay. Troy was over her and was happy. But, ever since she moved back into his life and with a baby he was certain was his, he couldn't get an accurate reading of how he felt for her.

Looking into her eyes now, Troy felt a familiar spark that he once felt for her, but it was different this time as he felt the baby move inside of her. She looked back into his eyes and slowly closed the distance between their faces, putting her lips to his.

Troy didn't pull away and he turned his head slightly to get better access to her lips. She opened her mouth and he instinctively opened his as well, letting his tongue meet hers.

Suddenly, alarms started to go off in his head. He pulled away from her gently and looked into her eyes, which were now open. He felt another pair of eyes on him and he turned swiftly to look at the stairs. Sharpay stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking at them with a mix of anger and betrayal in her eyes.

"Pay," Troy said desperately, but she had already turned and gone up the stairs. Troy jumped up and went after her. "Pay. Wait."

She went into their bedroom and didn't bother closing the door. When he got to the door, she already had an open suitcase on the bed.

"What are you doing?" he asked, turning the light on.

Sharpay didn't stop moving around the room as she spoke to him. "I'm leaving." She moved to the closet and pulled a few dresses out, throwing them into the suitcase.

"Sharpay, please. I'm so sorry. I don't know—"

"Save it." She cut him off, removing her robe and putting the clothes she was wearing earlier that day back on.

Troy stood at the door, watching her, unable to find anymore words.

"I feel like I've been pretty understanding, Troy. I've let your pregnant ex-girlfriend move in and I've forgiven you for putting her before me over and over again." She shook her head. "Not anymore. I'm done."

She closed her suitcase and picked it up, making her way towards the door. Troy still stood in it, not moving out of her way. Sharpay sighed heavily and didn't meet his eyes with hers.

"Move, Troy."

Troy shook his head and swallowed hard, blinking and letting a few tears fall from his eyes.

She looked up at him now and her eyes were empty of any feeling. "Move."

Troy's chin trembled and he stepped aside, letting her go past. He grabbed her wrist gently before she could reach the stairs. "Pay…" he started. She stopped, but didn't turn around. "I love you."

She gently pulled her wrist from his grasp and continued down the stairs and out the front door.

Troy unfroze and turned, running after her. "Sharpay, wait. Please wait." When he reached the front door, she was throwing her bag into the backseat of her convertible. She slammed the door and got into the front seat without looking at him.

"Pay! Please! I love you!" he called after her, reaching out to her, but it wasn't any use. She started her car and pulled out of her parking spot quickly, leaving Troy standing on the their front steps, his hand still reaching out for her in despair.


	6. 6: It's Time

It's Time

"_Sharpay, wait. Please wait," he called after her._

"_Pay! Please! I love you!" he shouted, but it didn't matter. He watched as she pulled out of the parking lot of their townhome through blurry eyes._

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

_Troy turned and looked back into the house, his brow furrowed. He couldn't imagine what could be making that sound._

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Troy woke up and rubbed his eyes as his alarm finally broke through his dream to wake him up. He frowned and slapped it to shut it up. He sighed heavily and rolled over so that he was lying on his back.

"Fuck," he muttered. Every night since she had left, Troy had dreamt about Sharpay's heartbreaking exit.

It had only been a week, but it felt like so much longer. The next morning, Troy was sure that Sharpay would come back home. If not for him, then for the clothes and skin care products she left behind in her hurry to leave. But when the next night rolled around and she hadn't showed up, he began to get worried. She wasn't answering his calls or texts. Troy finally decided to get into his truck and start to drive. He went by their old dorm, thinking maybe she was staying with someone there. He even drove by the auditorium, knowing how much she loved the stage, but she wasn't there either. It wasn't until Troy left the campus and started to head towards home that he realized where she must be.

Troy pulled up to the lavish home that belonged to Sharpay's parents and he saw her signature pink convertible in the driveway. He smiled wide and got out of his truck and went up to the house, ringing the doorbell. It was a few moments before anyone answered and he was surprised when Ryan opened the door.

"Ryan, hey!" he said, surprised, but pleased to see the blonde.

Ryan didn't look as pleased to see Troy, however. "Troy, Sharpay doesn't want to see you."

Troy blinked a few times. "Please, Ryan. I need to. I have to see her. I have to….explain…"

Ryan shook his head. "I can't let you in, Troy. I'm sorry." Troy rubbed his face with his hands and Ryan sighed softly, stepping out of the house and shutting the door behind him. "She's really upset. She won't talk to any of us. All she said was that if you showed up, not to let you in."

Troy nodded and sighed heavily, looking up at the house, at the window he knew to be hers.

Ryan just looked at him for a moment before speaking again. "I don't want you to tell me what happened. She'll tell me when she's ready. But she's fragile, Troy. _Really_ fragile. I thought you knew that…And yet, here is my twin sister, my best friend, crying constantly at my parents' house when she should be with you."

Troy shook his head. "It was an accident. I—"

Ryan held up a hand and cut him off. "I don't care. When she's ready, she'll come to you…and you'll fix things. Whatever you did…find a way to fix it."

Troy looked up at her window again and contemplated going past Ryan and going into the house anyway, but he took a few steps back instead. He looked back at Ryan, pain clearly written all over his face. "Will you tell her that I love her? And that I'm sorry?"

Ryan nodded and a look of sympathy crossed his face as he saw how broken Troy seemed over whatever had happened. Troy just nodded and waved half-heartedly as he got back into his truck and drove away.

Now, Troy lay in his bed, fully awake and sitting up, reaching for his phone. After the first two days, Ryan started to text Troy, letting him know that Sharpay was all right. It was one of the only things that kept him going through the day.

Troy went downstairs and was grateful that Gabriella wasn't down there as well. After Sharpay left, Gabriella looked crushed by Troy's behavior. He hadn't realized that, by going after Sharpay, he was hurting Gabriella in the process. She went up to her bedroom and shut the door when he came back in, refusing to talk to him. The rest of the week, he had barely seen her. She was up in her bedroom or always somewhere else, avoiding him.

Troy looked into the refrigerator and pulled out some milk for cereal before realizing that there was no cereal to be found. No one had gone to the grocery store. It was usually Sharpay that did the shopping and, without her around, Troy never thought about grocery shopping. He took the half-full gallon of milk and threw it into the sink, breaking the plastic bottom, causing the milk to run from the bottom and into the drain. He clenched his jaw and ran his hands through his hair a few times before leaving the kitchen and going upstairs to get into the shower.

Under the hot water, Troy began to relax and think. He knew that he needed to ask Gabriella to leave. It was the only way Sharpay would even consider coming back to him. But he couldn't ask her to do that when he knew the child inside of her was his. He wouldn't disappoint yet another girl in his life.

Why had everything gone wrong? All he wanted was a normal life with Sharpay—a wedding, graduate from college, maybe a few kids down the line. Now, everything that he wanted seemed so far away. He leaned his head against the shower wall and groaned in frustration.

Over the next three weeks, Troy still hadn't heard from Sharpay. Ryan continued to send him texts, but Sharpay was adamant about the fact that she did not want to see or speak to Troy. Troy was able to see her, however, without her knowing. As practices for _The Music Man_ became more frequent, Troy was able to sneak in the back every few days and watch the rehearsal. Some part of him hoped to see her miserable, missing him, but he never saw it. She was a professional and she never let whatever was happening in her personal life affect her acting.

When Troy got home late one evening after staying to watch one of Sharpay's rehearsals, he opened the door to something he never expected—Gabriella and Chad making out on his couch.

Stunned, Troy walked in and slammed the door behind himself to get their attention. They both jumped and Chad got up off of the couch in surprise.

"Troy…man…What's up?" he asked, a nervous smile on his face.

Troy looked between the two of them, confused. "'What's up?' Really?"

Gabriella, with difficulty, lifted herself off of the couch and waddled her way to Troy. "I think the three of us need to sit down and talk."

Troy backed away from her a bit, but didn't say anything.

Chad started again. "I came over here to apologize…to you and to Gaby. I was an idiot. I shouldn't have acted the way that I did." Gabriella smiled at Troy and nodded.

"See? He's sorry. And we…" she made her way over to Chad, taking his hand in hers. "We're back together."

Troy continued to stare, unable to believe what she was saying. After everything, all that Chad did and all Troy did to protect Gabriella, she was going back to him?

When Troy spoke, it was so soft that he could barely even hear it. "Get out…"

Gabriella furrowed her brow. "W-…what?"

"Get out," he repeated, louder. She tried to walk towards him, but he stepped back and put his hands out to stop her. "Get out, Gabriella. Both of you. Leave."

Chad stepped forward. "Hey, man. You can't talk to her like that."

"OUT!" Troy yelled, surprising even himself a bit. "NOW!"

Tears filled Gabriella's eyes and she walked towards him again. When he didn't try to stop her, she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I'm sorry, Troy. Y-…you don't love me. You don't want me. Chad does….He's going to help me take care of the baby…"

Troy looked down at her with wide eyes and tore himself from her embrace. She stood, shocked, with her arms out stretched.

"I hope you two will be very happy together," Troy said in a cold voice. He looked away from her and she let out a sob before walking out the front door. Chad followed her after glaring at Troy and Troy felt himself collapse against the wall once the front door was shut again.

Tears began to fall from Troy's face. He didn't love Gabriella any more, she was right, but at least she stuck around. At least she was going to have that baby and it would partly be his. He would still have something. With Sharpay, Gabriella, and the baby gone, he felt he had nothing.

He picked himself up off of the floor and started to make his way upstairs when Chad busted through the front door.

"Something's wrong!"

Troy turned around and looked at him, noting the seriousness and the fear on his face. He followed Chad back outside and saw that Gabriella was sitting in the passenger seat of Chad's car, crying and holding her stomach in pain.

"What happened?" Troy asked as he ran to her side, kneeling next to the car.

"I don't know! I got her into the car and before I could shut the door, she screamed in pain."

Gabriella cried out and gripped the dashboard in front of her. Troy looked at her seat and realized it was wet. He looked back up at her. "Did your water break?" When she nodded, he widened his eyes. "But it's too early! You still have at least a month!"

Chad looked down at him. "What do we do?"

Troy swallowed hard—he felt torn. Part of him wanted to tell both of them to fuck off and deal with it, but the other half needed to help them. He stood up and looked at Chad, resolve on his face.

"We need to get her to the hospital."

Thirty minutes later, Gabriella was checked in at Albuquerque General. Troy called Gabriella's mother, who was still in New York, and told her what was going on. He sat in the waiting room, chewing on his bottom lip, not knowing what to do. He had already texted his parents and Ryan, just for the hell of it, and now he felt useless. He closed his eyes and rested his head back; trying to calm himself and tell himself that everything would be all right.

Down the hall came a clacking sound like stilettos on linoleum and Troy opened his eyes to see Sharpay enter the waiting room. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and she wore a pink tank top with skinny jeans, looking absolutely amazing. Troy hadn't seen her this close in a month and he was sure that she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"Pay…" he said, standing. She looked at him, conflict in her eyes.

"Where is she?" she asked, her eyebrows raised a bit.

Troy pointed down the hall, not taking his eyes off of her.

"How is she?"

"She's in a lot of pain. And she's worried be-"

She cut him off. "Because it's too soon." She looked into his eyes and bit her lips together softly. "Ryan told me that she was here. She could probably use someone…who's a girl…" She smiled softly. Sharpay looked at him another moment before going down the hall towards Gabriella's room.

Troy sat back down and mentally slapped himself. That would have been the perfect time for him to apologize, again, for his complete and constant stupidity. Chad came out a few minutes later and sat down next to Troy. The two men were silent for a long time before Chad looked over at him.

"I'm sorry, Bolton," he said. It was a pretty lack-luster apology, but Troy was too tired to fight anymore. He nodded and looked over at Chad, smiling sadly.

"Me, too," he replied. The pair sat silently next to each other, waiting for more news about Gabriella.

Two hours passed and they still heard nothing new about her condition or the baby's. Troy had counted half of the bumps in the ceiling when, finally, Sharpay came out to them. "She's doing all right. They're monitoring her and the baby closely." She looked at Chad, slightly disgusted. "She wants to see you."

Chad got up and left the waiting room. Sharpay watched him go and started to head in the other direction without looking at Troy.

"Pay, wait!" Troy called after her. She got halfway down the hallway before he caught up to her, stopping her by grabbing her arm gently. "Please wait."

Sharpay turned slowly and looked at him, tears already in her eyes. "What, Troy?"

"I'm sorry." She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off before she could even start. "I know I've said that before and I know that what I did was horrible and wrong. I've been so fucked up about what been going on that, in a momentary lapse of judgment, I royally screwed up. I know that. But I also know that I'm completely miserable without you. I love you and I can't live without you."

Sharpay blinked and a few tears fell from her eyes.

Troy continued before she could speak. "You can't live without me. We are a part of each other, Sharpay. We have always been. Since elementary school…. I'm not perfect. Not anywhere close. But I'm perfect for you."

Sharpay's chocolate eyes looked between his blue eyes several times before she finally spoke, her voice only a whisper.

"Never…again…"

He shook his head quickly. "You're the only one for me, Pay. I will _never_ make these mistakes again."

She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. He pulled her close and smiled wide, happy to have his life coming together again. As they made their way back to the waiting room, Chad came out, looking frazzled.

"They think this is it. She's starting to push."

Troy widened his eyes and looked at Sharpay. "Holy shit."

Chad walked the rest of the way to them and looked at Sharpay. "She's asking for you."

Sharpay looked at Troy briefly before pulling away and walking quickly towards Gabriella's room.


	7. 7: Epilogue

Epilogue

_One year later…_

Troy stood facing the mirror, looking at himself appreciatively. He wasn't a big fan of dressing up, but he had to admit that his tuxedo was pretty dashing on him. He fought the urge to run his fingers through his hair, knowing that his mother, who had just spent 15 minutes on the hairdo, would kill him if he did. He licked his lips and gave himself one last glance before heading out of the only door to the room.

Troy's mother greeted him outside the door and smiled wide at him. She reached out and straightened his tie, blinking back the tears in her eyes. Troy smiled endearingly at his mother and kissed her cheek.

"It's time, sweetie," his mother said and Troy let out a shaky breath. She gave his arm one last squeeze before going down the hallway, ready to enter ballroom in which Troy was about to get married.

Troy closed his eyes and fought the urge, again, to run his fingers through his hair. He chewed on his bottom lip nervously and then furrowed his brow. He had no reason to be nervous. He was going to marry the woman that he loved. He was ready for this step. He had been waiting for it.

He went down a different hall than his mother and waited until he heard the music play before he opened the door and stepped into the ballroom. He felt overwhelmed by the number of people in the room, but he smiled nonetheless and took his place at the altar, staring down the aisle towards the back of the room.

The doors opened and Ryan Evans escorted Troy's grandmother down the aisle, followed by both the bride and the groom's mothers. He gave his grandmother a little wave and smiled as Ryan helped her sit down, and then joined him, standing on his left.

"Nervous?" Ryan whispered as he took his place next to Troy.

"Psh, no," Troy replied, sounding as nonchalant as he could muster. He heard Ryan snort softly.

"Liar."

Troy nudged his best man gently in the ribs and focused his attention on the door once more. Gabriella came towards him now in a short, pink dress. He smiled at her and she winked, moving to stand on the opposite side of the altar as him. His eyes took in her beautiful features for a long moment. He looked into her eyes, her own smiling at him. She looked away, causing him to follow her glance and he smiled wide.

Maria, with her head full of curls and her dark caramel skin, waddled her way towards them with a basket of petals. Troy laughed softly as she slowly made her way towards them, not taking any of the petals out of the basket. Gabriella kneeled and reached her arms out to her daughter. The one-year-old smiled and moved a little faster towards her mother, causing the room to fill with laughter. When Maria reached Gabriella, she looked down at her basket and then turned it upside down, letting all of the petals fall at her feet, causing even more laughter.

Maria reached for Troy and he waved at her, hoping she wouldn't fuss because he couldn't pick her up. Gabriella reached down and took Maria's hand, distracting her long enough for the music to change.

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were fixed on the back of the room. Troy stood frozen in place as the doors opened for the last time and Sharpay walked out of them, her arm linked with her father's. Troy licked his lips and took in a deep breath, watching as she walked towards him. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Her eyes locked with his and she smiled wide, making her look even more beautiful.

When she reached him, and her father gave her away, Troy took her hand and kept himself from pulling her close and kissing her right there. She beamed at him and took her place beside him, squeezing his hand gently.

Two and a half hours later, Troy pulled Sharpay onto the dance floor to share their first dance together. At first, he just held her close, one arm around her waist and his left hand holding her right. After a few moments, he leaned in and put his lips to her ear.

"I love you," he whispered. She looked up at him and smiled, reaching up slightly to put her lips to his for a kiss.

"I love you, too, Bolton."

"Hey, you're a Bolton, now," he laughed softly.

Sharpay nodded. "I guess you're right."

They heard a squeal of laughter and they both looked over to see Maria being picked up by Chad. Troy could feel Sharpay's gaze on him before she spoke.

"Do you wish she would've been yours?"

Troy looked back at her, smiling softly. He shook his head. "No. Not anymore. Not since you took me back the day she was born." He looked over at the little girl again briefly. "She's beautiful," he started, looking back at Sharpay. "But our kids will be even more beautiful."

Sharpay smiled wide and kissed him again before resting her head on his chest, sighing.

Troy looked down at her and ran his hand up and down her bare back.

"I promise, Pay. Things are going to be normal now. Perfectly normal."

She looked up at him, one eyebrow cocked slightly.

"Troy," she began, "Normal is too far away to be real."

He furrowed his brow and she reached up to cup his face in her hands. They stopped moving and Troy placed both hands on his wife's hips, looking into her eyes.

"Really?" he asked.

She nodded. "But something next to normal would be okay."

Troy smiled wide at her and she smiled back. Sharpay got onto her toes slightly and closed the gap between their lips, kissing him passionately. The room erupted in applause as the song ended and Troy took Sharpay's hand, leading her off of the dance floor, knowing that she was right.

**Thank you so much to everyone who stuck with this story even when I was horrible and didn't update it. Thank you so much to everyone that read this and "Never Saw This Coming".**

**For those who are reading my other HSM story, "Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore", that update is coming next, so stay tuned.**

**Thanks again!**

**~EB**


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